← Matchups

Western Carolina

· 1-2 · power -3.8 · #226
Our side · spreadWCU +36.5 logged our number at the pick CIN -28.8 · now CIN -30.3 · 5.2 pts from the market now

Cincinnati

B12 · 2-0 · power +16.3 · #51
Final WCU 10 · CIN 62 ML W Spread L Total W our logged sides, graded on the record
Our side
SpreadWCU +36.5 logged live now: WCU +35.5 — the pick stands, the number moved · ours CIN -30.3

The line has not moved a point since it opened (CIN -36.5 → -36.5), so our number decides: CIN by 28.8 against CIN -36.5 means WCU covers.

TotalOver 60.5 logged live now: Over 61.5 — the pick stands, the number moved · ours 63.4

The total has not moved a point since it opened (60.5 → 60.5); ours 62.0 against 60.5 says over.

MoneylineCIN to win logged ours 95% · book 97%

Our number: CIN by 28.8 — CIN to win.

Distance from the market 5.2 pts / +1.9 total a caution, not a signal
Projected score 17–47 WCU – CIN
2026-09-12 · 7:00 PM Nippert Stadium · Cincinnati, OH Early season

The books 5 account books · tap any price — the ticket builds at that book

Book WCU spreadCIN spread OverUnder WCU winCIN win WCU TT overWCU TT under CIN TT overCIN TT under
DraftKings
FanDuel
BetMGM
ESPN Bet
Caesars

The gold price is the best available on that side; a gold marks the side our number implies — a read, not a pick. TT is a team total — that team’s own points, not the game’s; columns are empty where no book hangs one. Send to book opens whichever book you tapped, not the one we would have picked. Prices are the books’ own.

Ours vs the market

SpreadCincinnati -30.3
the marketCincinnati -35.5
Total63.4
the market61.5
Cincinnati win95% vs 97%

Both percentages are Cincinnati’s chance to win — ours, then the book’s with the vig removed, medianed across the books we track.

What the gap has been worth 10,740 games · 2016–2025

0–3 pts52.0%
3–750.2%
7–1449.3%
14+46.8%

How often the side we favoured covered, by how far our number sat from the market’s. Break-even at −110 is 52.4% — no bucket reaches it, and the rate falls as we disagree more. The further we sit from the market, the worse we have done.

Public vs booksbets vs money · Action Network captured in-game spread WCU 95% bets · 40% money · money CIN total Under 71% bets · 70% money ML CIN 97% bets · 97% money
Series Cincinnati lead 1–0 · 1 meeting since 2005
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game even 23 ranks apart
Western Carolina Catamounts #162 rush offense Cincinnati Bearcats #185 run defense
Pass game edge Western Carolina Catamounts 128 ranks
Western Carolina Catamounts #24 pass offense Cincinnati Bearcats #152 pass defense
Run game edge Cincinnati Bearcats 192 ranks
Cincinnati Bearcats #27 rush offense Western Carolina Catamounts #219 run defense
Pass game edge Cincinnati Bearcats 168 ranks
Cincinnati Bearcats #37 pass offense Western Carolina Catamounts #205 pass defense
Western Carolina Catamounts Balanced · 46% run Avg pace Dual-threat QB · 36 rush ypg Cincinnati Bearcats Balanced · 53% run Ball-control Dual-threat QB · 48 rush ypg
Scott Satterfield · 80-57 · offense-minded

Ranked by team-unit strength (rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265 D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the 2025 season.

The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above

Who carried each team in 2025
Western Carolina Catamounts
DB Andre Jackson Jr. 18 tkl · 4 PD #80 DB
DL Caleb Turner-Allen 8 tkl · 2.0 sacks · 2.0 TFL #144 DL
TE Bode Burns 10 rec · 99 yds · 1 TD #40 TE
LB Joshua Collins 19 tkl · 2.0 sacks · 3.0 TFL #121 LB
Cincinnati Bearcats
RB Gi'Bran Payne 210 rush yds · 2 TD · 2 rec #70 RB
DL Josh Hough 7 tkl · 1.5 sacks · 1.5 TFL #206 DL
WR JV Gibson 9 rec · 133 yds · 2 TD #129 WR
LB Jonathan Thompson 14 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 2.0 TFL #144 LB

Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no 2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.

Power breakdown
TeamPowerOffDefRank
Western Carolina Catamounts -3.8 +4.5 -8.3 #226
Cincinnati BearcatsB12 +16.3 +8.9 +7.5 #51

Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).

Where the number comes from
Western Carolina offense vs Cincinnati defense-2.9 pts
Cincinnati offense vs Western Carolina defense+17.2 pts
Altitude · context only424 m lower than the visitor's home elevation

An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.

Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them. Adding them again would double-count.